NYS Seeing Increase In Egg Production

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Area farmers are seeing an increase in egg production. That, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

King Whetstone, Director of USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service in the NY Field Office said December 2010 egg production went up 10% when compared to the previous year's numbers. He said nationally the data shows an increase of 1% in the nation's overall egg production numbers.

Whetstone connected the increase to the number of hens and pullets of laying age increasing 8% from December 2009. Also, there was a 2% increase of the rate of lay and those figures show the outcome as 2,505 eggs per 100 layers. The national average figures conclude that egg production in the country totaled 7.90 billion last month.

According to the report, "production included 6.83 billion table eggs, and 1.07 billion hatching eggs, of which 1 billion were broiler-type and 67 million were egg-type." Also, the report shows that last month the total number of layers averaged 341 million, which is an increase of 1% when compared to last year's figures.

The report shows a 4% decline in hatching egg-type chicks and incubated eggs numbers went down 1%. A copy of this report can be found at www.nass.usda.gov/ny.